A fundraising site has been started up to help California punk and hardcore icon Dez Cadena pay off hospital bills stemming from his battle with throat cancer.

A GoFundMe page set up by his friends explains that the former Black Flag/Misfits member recently underwent radiation treatment after being diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year. He had also gone under the knife in the spring to have a malignant tumour removed from his larynx.

Despite these challenges, the guitarist is looking forward to a recovery period and getting back on the road. That said, his doctors bills are apparently quite high and he doesn't have the income to pay it off. Thus, friends are hoping to rally behind the cause with a crowd-sourced online fundraiser.

"Dez has just finished debilitating radiation treatments, and is confident he will return to active performance again within a year," the page explains, adding, "So Dez has had to take a long break from touring and recording and he had no other income to pay for the quite expensive treatments and doctor's bills."

The campaign notes that Cadena, who has also played with Redd Kross, FLAG and his own DC3, has "given so much to the music community." They're asking for donations "so he can resume his proper place on the stages and records of our future."

Since it went live late last week, the site has raised over $6,500 USD of its $35,000 target. If you'd like to donate, you can find out more info over here.

Cadena revealed back in March that doctors had found a malignant neoplasm in his larynx. The tumour was discovered early enough that it was able to be removed during surgery. While he had initially anticipated that he'd be able to keep playing guitar on tour with the Misfits, he announced he'd quit the band in June.

Cadena's legacy includes an early '80s stint with Black Flag in which he, very briefly, fronted the band before they hired Henry Rollins. He'd moved to guitar for the recording of their iconic 1981 LP, Damaged.

He joined the Misfits as a tour guitarist in 2001, but ended up playing with the band steadily until this past June. He cut several albums with the band, the last of which being 2011's The Devil's Rain.